Oct. 06--Hot topic of the moment is the looming shortage of pumpkin for Thanksgiving pies, in part because of rainy weather early this growing season in central Illinois east of Peoria and our year-round appetite for pumpkin-flavored eats, sweet and savory.
Does this mean you need to pull out your favorite sweet potato pie recipe, opt for pecan or do apple pie?
Well, before you start fussing with the holiday menu, know that things should be fine this year, according to a spokeswoman for the canned-pumpkin folks at Libby's who have a processing plant in the town of Morton. "We're carefully managing our distribution across the country and to our retailers through allocation," spokeswoman Roz O'Hearn emailed. "However, we won't have much 'reserve' stock -- if any at all -- to carry us into the new year."
This isn't the first pumpkin shortage we've seen (there was one in 2009). And Libby's isn't the only canned pumpkin on the market. Yet if you're concerned, know that options exist. You can skip the canned filling, making your pie from scratch, but with squash as Tribune columnist Leah Eskin did with the recipe below. Although she still calls it pumpkin pie, she calls for kabocha squash, which she finds makes excellent pie.
Pumpkin pie
Prep: 1 hour
Bake: 50 minutes
Makes: 8 to 12 servings
From Home on the Range columnist Leah Eskin.
1 (2- to 3-pound) green or red kabocha squash*
Canola oil
1 cup (packed) dark-brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 eggs
Ginger crust (see recipe)
Whipped cream, optional
1. Roast: Slice squash in half. Use an ice-cream scoop to scrape out seeds and any stringy innards. Brush with a little oil. Set squash cut-side-down on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Slide into a 400-degree oven, and roast until tender (pierce with a fork, right through the skin), about 40 minutes.
2. Swirl: Scoop out orange flesh (discard skin) and drop it into the food processor. Swirl completely smooth. Measure 2 cups puree.
3. Toss: Use a fork to toss together sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg.
4. Mix: Return squash to the food processor. Add cream, eggs and sugar mix. Swirl smooth.
5. Bake: Pour squash mix onto baked ginger crust (still in its pan, still on a baking sheet). Slide into the center of a 400-degree oven, and bake until pie is jiggly all the way across, about 50 minutes. Cool completely. Unsnap sides of pan, release pie. Slice and serve with whipped cream, if you like.
Ginger crust
Stir together 1 1/2 cups gingersnap crumbs, 5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter and 3 tablespoons sugar. Press firmly across the bottom of a deep 9-inch springform pan (the sort used for cheesecake). Set pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Slide into the center of a 400-degree oven and bake until crust is fragrant and slightly darkened, about 12 minutes. Cool.
--Kabocha squash, also called Japanese pumpkin, has sweet, dense flesh that makes excellent pumpkin pie. Check farmers markets or specialty supermarkets.
